


A Simple Investigation

by ladyc2



Category: KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 16:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5133749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyc2/pseuds/ladyc2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your not supposed to fall in love when you’re an undercover agent. Too bad Kame can’t seem to help himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Simple Investigation

Kame twirled the pen around his fingers as he swiveled lazily back and forth in his chair. To outsider’s eyes it may have looked like indolence but Kame was taking his job very seriously - it just wasn’t the job people thought it was. 

He threw his pen down with a small grunt as the door to the director’s office swung open. The listening devices he’d taken great pains to plant in said office had so far proved unfruitful. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the director, Takenaka, bowed and shook hands with his latest client. Kame would go over the recordings again with his partner Taguchi later, just to be sure they hadn’t missed anything, but Kame was pretty sure this meeting, at least, was above board.

Takenaka returned to his office, humming quietly to himself and Kame turned back to his computer screen while he considered his next move. When he had finally been promoted to detective and had joined the undercover division, Kame had had visions of infiltrating yakuza groups, or maybe a drug ring – he’d even been prepared for vice, and all that might entail. Corporate crime was where it was at these days, however, so instead Kame found himself in a suit and tie busting companies for embezzlement, insider trading or other such white collar offences.

Takenaka Corp. was a medium sized investment company, smaller than Kame was used to investigating, but an anonymous tip-off that someone in the company might be skimming money from clients accounts had led the police to their door. So now Kame was Ishida Yuya, clerk for the accounting division (where clerk was a euphemism for photocopier/coffee-maker). That was fine with Kame, it let him stick his nose into all sorts of business he otherwise wouldn’t be able to. 

The head of the accounting division was an older man, nearing retirement age. He seemed stuck in the past, preferring to do things by hand rather than use the new computer systems. In this day and age that didn’t leave him much to do. Kame guessed he was either a relative or a family friend of the director. Either way, Kame had largely ruled him out as a suspect early on. 

His direct underling, and the one left with most of the actual day to day work of running the accounts, was one Nakamaru Yuichi. It had seemed like that would be a good place to start his investigation. He’d quickly realised that Nakamaru was open, honest and as an added bonus, amusingly easy to fluster. Still, while his instincts told him that Nakamaru was on the straight and narrow, he hadn’t been able to rule him out completely. 

“Ishida-san, could you copy these documents for me?” Nakamaru called out, not looking up from his computer screen. Kame rose from his chair and made his way over to the other man’s desk. The pile of documents Nakamaru meant was plainly obvious but Kame decided to have a little fun.

“Which documents?” he asked. 

Nakamaru blinked, gaze drawn away from the computer screen to look up at Kame, then down to the only documents sitting on his desk, then back to Kame. Kame grinned holding out his hands. Nakamaru sighed dramatically, but nevertheless he picked up the papers and placed them into Kame’s hands. Kame made sure to brush his fingers against the other, and tried, nearly successfully, to hold in his laughter as Nakamaru snatched his fingers back a blush rising on his cheeks. 

He felt Nakamaru’s eyes on him as he sauntered over to the photocopier. Kame tried not to think too hard about how much of a thrill he felt, knowing that he affected the other to such a degree. That way lay dangerous territory for an undercover agent.

Kame was on the last document when Ueda Tatsuya practically bounced into the office like a kid on a sugar high. “I got it,” he exclaimed loudly to the room at large. He didn’t bother saying what he got or who; everyone knew he’d been assigned to convince Yasuda Technical to invest with the firm. It would be the biggest client the company had on their books. A cheer went up around the room. 

Even in a suit and tie, Ueda looked like a delinquent, and his cavalier attitude made Kame wonder just how he managed to become the top dealmaker in the company. Probably intimidated his clients into signing up. 

Still Kame got along well with Ueda, or maybe he should say ‘Ishida’ did, since as Ishida, Kame largely projected the same laid-back and carefree approach to work. 

Ueda went straight to Nakamaru's desk.

"C'mon, let's go celebrate. Lunch is on me."

"On you?" Nakamaru snorted. "That'll be the day." Still, he started packing up his things.

Ueda laughed, gathering up Shige, Maruyama and Senga as he headed back towards the door . "Ishida, you're coming too right?"

Kame shrugged. "Sure." 

He joined the group as they headed out. As he predicted Nakamaru ended up paying after all. 

\--

Kame nodded to the security guards on the front desk as he entered the building later that night. The building held several companies on its eight storeys, Takenaka Corp. holding the third floor. As he stepped into the elevator he turned slightly so his lips were facing away from the camera. 

“Taguchi, can you hear me?” 

“Loud and clear Kazuya,” Taguchi’s voice filtered in through his earpiece. “I’m just about to patch into the security systems.”

“I’m in,” Taguchi said after a moment. “Looks like you’re not alone though.”

The elevator dinged and Kame stepped off. _Someone working late?_ It had been a risk but Taguchi had been having trouble hacking into the company’s servers since they ran on their own private server - he needed Kame to upload a software hack that would allow him to infiltrate the system.

"Got it," Kame acknowledged.

Kame wound his way through the office desks. Depending on who it was, he might still be able to pull it off. He’d really hate to have to cancel the operation and retry again later (there was only so many times he could ‘forget’ his phone without looking suspicious). It was a very familiar workstation that was occupied. 

“Nakamaru?”

Nakamaru looked up from his computer screen. “Ishida-san, what are you doing here?”

“I forgot my phone,” Kame replied gesturing to his desk where the phone which he’d deliberately left there earlier in the day was lying. “You?”

Nakamaru leaned back, stretching his arms up over his head. “Just finishing up some reports for tomorrow’s meeting.”

“It’s not like you to be rushing.” 

Nakamaru frowned in displeasure. “Senga-kun misplaced some important documents. I spent most of the afternoon tracking them down.”

_Missing documents_ \- that sounded like just the thing Kame should be investigating. Kame tried not to sound too curious, but he couldn’t go without probing a little. “Sounds serious.” He made a mental note to investigate Senga further.

"Well, I found them eventually, so no real harm done. It just means I’m behind on the rest of my work.” 

Kame gathered his phone up. “Well, I’ll let you get back to it.” It looked like he would have to try again another day, Nakamaru was the type to pay attention to detail.

“Actually, I just finished." Nakamaru said, closing down his computer and standing up. He looked around, unsure for a second before adding, "I need a drink. There’s this bar just down the street I’ve been meaning to try out." He cleared his throat nervously. "Would you like to join me.”

For a long moment, Kame was tempted to agree. It was a perfect opportunity to dig for more information and even though Taguchi was waiting for him downstairs in the car, he knew it wouldn’t be any trouble. However, he also knew his desire to agree had very little to do with the case. 

Teasing Nakamaru had started as a fun diversion to arrest the boredom that came with his job, but somewhere along the way it had changed in nature. He liked the way Nakamaru reacted to his flirting, and on the rare occasions he’d flirted back a little Kame had found himself responding in a similar manner. In other words, he was starting to get too close for comfort. He couldn’t quite bring himself to stop the teasing at work, but he could make sure that it didn’t escalate further. 

“My friend’s waiting for me downstairs.” He gave the excuse apologetically. _It was for the best._

Nakamaru wasn’t to be deterred however. “He can come too. In fact, I’ll give Ueda a call, he lives nearby.”

Kame gave in - it would look suspicious if he kept fighting it, he reasoned. Besides it gave him an opportunity to complete his mission. He pulled his phone back out and moved to the other side of the room, ostensibly to call Taguchi and issue the invite, but also so he could plug in the usb stick Taguchi had given him on the small mainframe computer that ran the company’s computers and upload the worm Taguchi had devised. 

“Ready to go?” Nakamaru asked behind him. Kame spun around, snatching the usb stick back as he did so and smiled disarmingly at Nakamaru to further distract him.

“Sure. Taguchi will meet us downstairs.”

\--

“This is the bar you wanted to try?” Ueda asked skeptically as the four stood outside a seedy looking establishment. Music and laughter blared out from the doorway.

Nakamaru nodded. “It looks interesting. I’ve been meaning to check it out for a while.”

“Look, I know ever since your girlfriend dumped you for being too boring, you’ve been trying to be more adventurous, but don’t you think this is going a little too far?”

“Is there a problem?” Taguchi asked. 

Ueda shrugged. “I’ve heard things about this place, that’s all.”

“Things?”

“The regular customers aren’t the nicest bunch of people.” When Taguchi looked like he was about to inquire further, Ueda clarified, “Yakuza.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nakamaru chided. “You shouldn’t believe every rumour you hear.”

They walked into the bar and Kame was impressed that Nakamaru managed to project an air of confidence. It was only close observation that showed the muscles in his shoulders were just a little too tense. The others trailed behind a little more reluctantly. It’s not that Kame thought he couldn’t handle Yakuza - it was the undercover work he’d really wanted to do - but his current role wouldn’t be familiar with such underworld and so Kame acted apprehensive.

Inside of the bar was a lot more open and inviting than the outside and Ueda’s warnings had made it sound. The clientele looked like the average drunken salaryman and if there were Yakuza, they were keeping a low profile. Kame stifled a giggle at Nakamaru’s disappointed frown.

They settled themselves at a table, and Ueda offered to go to the bar to get their drinks. He returned a few minutes later with four beers. As he slid into the booth, Nakamaru cleared his throat. “So Taguchi-san, what is it that you do?”

“I’m a cop-” Kame kicked him under the table “-pycat.”

“A copycat? What the hell does that mean?” Ueda asked.

Taguchi's face lit up and Kame winced. That look on Taguchi's face never boded well. “I do impersonations.”

“Like who?” Nakamaru asked.

Kame tried to shake his head, to warn Nakamaru that he was wading into dangerous territory, but it was too late. Taguchi launched into a series of what Kame assumed were supposed to be famous celebrities and politicians while Nakamaru and Ueda just looked more and more horrified. 

Kame quickly downed his beer, slamming it down on the table and interrupting Taguchi’s spiel.

"Taguchi, why don’t you go and get the next round," Kame said. Taguchi agreed readily and hopped up.

"He can’t possibly make a living doing that," Nakamaru commented as Taguchi wandered off to the bar.

“I try not to ask,” Kame answered, hoping Nakamaru and Ueda would take the hint and just drop any further mention of Taguchi’s career. When Taguchi came back, however, they just switched to another less than ideal topic.

"So how do you two know each other?"

"We went to school together." Kame answered, thinking fast. It was partly true - If you counted the police academy as a school.

Taguchi grinned. "Kame and I have been friends ever since."

_Kame._ There was a reason Taguchi was in support and not an operative himself. He supposed he should have been thankful that Taguchi hadn’t called him Kazuya like he usually did. 

"Kame?" 

"Uh, it's an old school nickname." Kame covered as best he could. He took another long drink and tried to steer the conversation in another direction. 

 

\--

Kame stepped out of the bar and onto the street. He swayed slightly and stuck his hand onto a nearby light pole to steady himself. He was jostled a moment later by Nakamaru stumbling into his back. At the contact, Kame felt a rush of, something - lust, affection; he couldn’t tell for sure but whatever it was it was nice. He sighed quietly as Nakamaru pulled off him. 

“Did you say something?” Nakamaru asked.

“Your ex-girlfriend was an idiot.”

“Oh.” It clearly wasn’t what Nakamaru was expecting to hear. Truthfully, it hadn’t been what Kame had expected to say. He also couldn’t seem to stop the next words from coming out. 

“You’re an amazing person.” Maybe he was drunker than he thought.

Nakamaru frowned. “Well, I don’t think she saw it that way.”

“That’s what I mean - idiot.”

Nakamaru laughed, an awkward sort of chuckle, but the deep reverberations went straight to a warm pit pooling in Kame’s guts. Kame leaned over, encroaching into Nakamaru’s space and breathing in his scent. 

“I wish I could show you,” he mumbled, taking a hold of Nakamaru jacket and pulling him closer. Nakamaru’s breath caught in his throat and Kame watched, fascinated, as his adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. 

“Why don’t you.”

It was Kame’s turn to laugh, a huff that came out more desperate than amused. “Impossible.” Contrary to his words, he followed it up by pressing closer into Nakamaru, almost nuzzling his neck and gripping the lapels on Nakamaru’s coat harder, his knuckles turning white. 

“Ishida-san?” Nakamaru breathed, and this was what snapped Kame out of what he was doing; a touch of sobriety slapping him in the face and punching him in the guts as he remembered why this was a bad idea. He let go of Nakamaru’s shirt reluctantly. 

“I’m not who you think I am,” Kame muttered sadly, stepping back from Nakamaru’s space.

Nakamaru looked confused and hurt, his eyebrows drawn down. Kame pushed down the sudden urge to throw up. He grabbed Taguchi’s arm, as he and Ueda stepped out behind them, and dragged him down the street away from Nakamaru, away from the source of his unsettlement. 

\--

The next few days, Kame spent avoiding Nakamaru as much as possible at work. It wasn’t that hard since it seemed Nakamaru felt the same way. Instead Kame spent the time observing Senga Kento, the junior accountant who was responsible for the missing files. He was a serious and studious kid, but a little clumsy and nervous around his seniors and he didn’t seem to have much of a backbone. 

If Kento was behind any wrong-doings within the company, he wasn’t working alone. So Kame switched his attention to the people Senga associated with most in the office. He spent most of his time with Arioka Daiki, a fellow junior accountant. Two juniors skimming money off clients’ accounts seemed a little far-fetched, not without someone more senior’s help. He looked next at Senga’s mentors; Ueda, Kato Shigeaki from the legal department and Yokoyama, also from accounting. 

He offered to help all three with their work so he could observe them more easily and that helped distract him and keep him busy. He was inputting some data for Yokoyama when he overheard a conversation between Senga and Arioka at a nearby table.

“I got tickets for that show I was talking about. Wanna come?”

“I can’t, I have to work.” Senga sounded petulant. 

“On Sunday!” Arioka complained. “Why?”

Senga nodded his head and then leaned closer to whisper to his friend. Kame had to strain to pick it up.

“It’s all hush hush. I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

_Bingo._ Kame’s lips twitched upwards in a smile. He might finally be making some progress. Looked like a stakeout was on the cards.   
\--

The cafe was situated across the road from the Takenaka Corp.’s offices and was the perfect vantage point to watch the comings and goings of people working in the building. It being a Sunday, most of the offices were closed, but there were a few people still entering and exiting.  
It wouldn’t be any trouble to spot Senga when he showed up. If Kame could figure out who Senga was meeting with, he could narrow down the focus of his investigation. He and Taguchi ordered some coffee and settled down at one of the outside tables to wait.

“Bogey at ten o’clock.”

Kame turned, regretting the fact that he’d distracted Taguchi from further attempts to practice his impersonations (in case it was needed again) with a war movie. He was expecting to see one of their targets so Kame was surprised to find that it was Nakamaru that Taguchi was referring to; and he wasn’t heading for the offices but was walking straight towards them. He came to a halt right in front of Kame, nodding briefly to Taguchi in greeting.

“We need to talk,” Nakamaru stated firmly.

Kame tried to keep one eye on the building and one on Nakamaru. “Now’s not really a good time.” 

Nakamaru ignored his words. “What’s so impossible about being with me?”

Kame was acutely aware that Taguchi was behind him, no doubt listening intently. He tried to pick his words carefully.

“I told you the other night,” Kame started but Nakamaru interrupted him. 

“Are you a vampire?” Nakamaru asked.

Kame looked up towards the sun burning brightly in the clear blue sky. “Uh, no?” 

“Werewolf?”

“No.”

“Zombie? Ghost? Other form of supernatural creature I haven’t managed to think of?”

_Had Nakamaru lost his mind?_

“Where are you even getting-”

Nakamaru cut him off.

“Then stop with the emo teenager Twilight bullshit and give me a proper reason,” he demanded.

Kame couldn’t help the snigger that broke free at Nakamaru’s words, slapping a hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing. Nakamaru looked put out by Kame’s reaction.

“You’ve been practising that speech for a while haven’t you?” Kame asked.

“Practically since you rejected me.”

“I didn’t reject you,” Kame protested. 

“It sure as hell felt like it.”

Kame couldn’t deny that. 

“I’m sorry,” was all he could offer. He couldn’t do anything about it. It wouldn’t work to get involved with Nakamaru now. 

“Me too.” Nakamaru looked resigned. He stood still watching Kame for any hint that he might change his mind. When no further reaction from Kame came, he squared his shoulders and walked away.

Kame collapsed back into his chair. Taguchi was looking at him in sympathy.

“You could always go after him.”

Kame glanced in the direction Nakamaru had left. He was tempted, but duty won out over desire. _What would he say anyway?_

“We’re working.”

“I’ll cover for you,” Taguchi said. Kame frowned - something about the way Taguchi had said that; his voice and inflection different from how he normally talked. It took him a moment.

“Was that supposed to be _me_?” he asked, slightly horrified to think that’s how Taguchi might see him, even taking into consideration how bad at impersonations he was. Taguchi grinned, as if he was pleased that Kame had actually recognised what he was doing.

 

\---

Kame was feeling irritable. Sunday’s stakeout had been a bust, when both Yokoyama and Kato had shown up at the offices not long after Senga. At least they’d been able to rule Ueda out as a suspect. Kame was glad about that - he really did like the man, even if he was currently perched on the edge of Kame’s desk, making a nuisance of himself. It wasn’t really the case that had Kame’s guts twisting into knots, though.

“If you stare any harder at him, you’ll burn a hole through his back,” Ueda commented, glancing to where Kame’s line of sight was following Nakamaru as he headed into the file room.

Kame turned back to his computer screen, ignoring Ueda. Ueda, for his part, seemed amused by Kame’s turmoil, suggesting various places and ways that Kame should jump Nakamaru.

“I need a coffee.” Maybe the caffeine would help him focus. At the very least it would give him a break from Ueda for a few minutes.

“Could you bring back the Yasuda file while your there.”

“Get it yourself.” He was the accounting department’s dogsbody, not sales and Kame wasn’t in the mood to play along today, not even to snoop.

“But the file room is right next to the coffee machine,” Ueda whined and pouted.

“Fine, but you owe me one,” Kame muttered. It was only when he reached the room that he remembered he’d just watched Nakamaru walk in moments ago. He stopped in his tracks, studying the other man’s back. It would be so easy to cover the distance between them, press Nakamaru back against a file cabinet and kiss him senseless. _And, oh, it was tempting_. His reasons for not giving into temptation hadn’t changed though. The door closing behind him with a click broke him out of his musings and he turned. Behind him, he heard Nakamaru’s surprised gasp. The door handle rattled as Kame tried to turn it. _Locked._

“You two play nice in there.” Ueda’s voice was muffled through the door.

Kame banged his fist against the door. 

“Ueda, Let us out of here.” He used him most authoritative voice, the one that had junior police officers rushing to do his bidding lest they incur his wrath. Not surprisingly it was absolutely useless against Ueda. 

“Not until you two kiss and make-up,” came the reply. 

“Well that’s unlikely to happen,” Nakamaru commented a little bitterly from behind him. Kame banged once more on the door, more in frustration this time. He took a deep breath and  
turned to face Nakamaru.

“What are you looking for?” he asked to break the silence that was starting to feel suffocating.  
“You may as well let me help you out. Who knows how long Ueda will keep us in here for.”

Nakamaru snorted, “He’ll probably forget, and we’ll be stuck in here all night.”

“Can I use you as a pillow?” It came out before Kame could stop himself. It was just too easy to flirt with the other man.

Nakamaru pinned him with an intense stare that had Kame squirming uncomfortably. 

“I don’t get you,” he stated after a moment, “You claim you like me, you make all these innuendos, you’re always in my personal space, but the minute I respond you go all cold and distant on me.”

“I told you,” Kame started but Nakamaru interrupted him.

“Yeah, yeah. ‘I don’t know who you are.’ Whatever that means.” Nakamaru turned back to the open file cabinet behind him. “That’s a pretty weak excuse - you don’t know that much about me either.”

There was nothing Kame could say to that, so he remained silent. After a moment Nakamaru gave instructions for which files he wanted. They worked like that for at least an hour, the tension between them slowly dissipating as they focused on the task at hand.

“This isn’t right,” Nakamaru muttered softly.

Kame looked up from the file he was reading. “What’s wrong?”

Nakamaru didn’t look up, continuing to stare at the file in his hands. “It’s out by at least 200,000 yen. I’m sure of it.”

Kame moved to where Nakamaru was, reading the page over his shoulder.

“Who else would’ve used this file?”

Nakamaru thought for a moment. “Shige took a look at it. I remember sending Senga-kun to fetch it for him.” 

This could be it - the evidence he was looking for. _Finally._ He snatched the paper out of Nakamaru’s hands and examined it closer. If he squinted he could just make out where someone had tried to erase what were probably the original figures before overwriting it. 

“I could kiss you,” he exclaimed and before he considered his actions, Kame did just that, his lips pressing against Nakamaru’s. Kame had had a lot of time to think about what it would be like to kiss Nakamaru since his drunken almost confession outside the bar. It didn’t compare to the real thing. Nakamaru’s lips were soft and pliant against his own and Kame soon swiped his tongue against Nakamaru’s lips asking for entrance to deepen the kiss. Nakamaru complied moaning softly as their tongues met and circled each other.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Ueda’s voice broke the moment, and the kiss. Kame hadn’t even heard the door open. He turned to glare at Ueda, who wasn’t alone - Yokoyama and Maruyama hovering behind him. “You guys owe me 5000 yen.” Ueda informed them sticking out his hand. The other two grumbled pulling out their wallets.

Nakamaru tugged on his shirt to straighten it up before stepping around Kame and back out into the offices, ignoring Ueda’s jibes. Kame brought his fingers up to his lips - he could still feel Nakamaru on them. He battled with himself briefly; he knew he should take this new evidence straight to his bosses, but a part of him desperately wanted to chase after Nakamaru and kiss him again. His work ethic won in the end and Kame slipped quietly away from Takenaka Corp. 

\--

There was a large crowd gathered outside the building the next day as uniformed officers filed in and out, carrying large boxes of files. Between Taguchi’s efforts and the file Nakamaru had found they’d finally had enough evidence to get a warrant to search the place properly. Kame approached the police cordon. He didn’t have to be here today, he could’ve stayed home, but he felt the pull; maybe it was the chance to see Nakamaru one last time. He spotted Nakamaru and Ueda in the crowd and when Ueda gestured for him to join them he pushed his way forward slowly his feet shuffling. 

“Can you believe this.” Ueda was bouncing on his feet, hyped by the excitement of it all. He nudged Nakamaru with his elbow. “Looks like they finally listened to you.”

“Eh?” Kame asked, not sure what Ueda was referring too.

Nakamaru looked angry, his arms folded across his chest, and his gaze fixed firmly on where Kato Shigeaki and Senga Kento were being put into the back of a police car to be taken for questioning. “I’ve been telling the police for months now that something fishy was going on in this company.” 

 

“You were the anonymous tip-off!” Kame was so surprised the words were out of his mouth before he realised it. 

“Yes,” Nakamaru replied. Then he seemed to realise what Kame had said. “How do you know about that?”

Kame was saved from having to answer by Ueda’s surprised exclamation.

“Is that Taguchi?”

Nakamaru squinted in the direction Ueda was pointing. “Can’t be, he’s behind the police cordon.”

“No that is him, I’m sure of it.” Ueda whistled loudly and called out, “Taguchi!”

Taguchi turned and waved and Ueda gave Nakamaru a triumphant grin. Taguchi jogged over to them. He threw a quick glance at Kame but didn’t acknowledge him further - technically Kame was still undercover.

“You’re not an impersonator then?” Nakamaru asked looking him up and down in his police uniform. 

Kame wondered how long it would take for Nakamaru to join the dot’s. Probably not long, he  
was pretty smart. Kame started to inch away, deciding it was best to leave before he created an entirely different scene for the crowd’s entertainment. 

“Sorry,” Taguchi sounded sheepish, “but we were undercover and couldn’t say anything.”

“We?” Ueda questioned. Taguchi looked guilty and his mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to think of a cover for his words.

Nakamaru had turned straight to Kame though, looking at him with new understanding. “I don’t know who you really are?” he whispered, as if finally realising the truth behind Kame’s earlier rejections.

Kame bit his lip, not sure how to react. _Was Nakamaru mad?_ Kame would be if their situations were reversed. Kame had crossed a line by kissing the other - the one that said ‘don’t get involved’. It was Nakamaru that would pay for Kame stepping over it; falling for a lie, a persona. Nakamaru stepped up to him, gripping his arm as if afraid Kame might try to run. 

“Kame, right? That’s who you really are?” 

Kame dropped his head so he was studying his shoes. “Kamenashi Kazuya,” he whispered softly. He still couldn’t tell whether Nakamaru was angry or not; his voice monotonous as he asked. 

“What happens now? You just leave?”

“I move onto the next job,” Kame answered. No-one would be surprised when Ishida Yuya quit the company in the wake of this scandal, he wouldn’t likely even be the only one. Hell, the company itself might not survive under such circumstances.

Nakamaru let go of his arm. Kame kept his head down, not wanting to see the disappointment on Nakamaru’s face. There was an uncomfortable silence and Kame waited for whatever would come next - angry words, screaming, yelling, or even just for Nakamaru to walk away, never to speak to him again.

“Nakamaru Yuichi, nice to meet you.”

Kame’s head shot up to stare at Nakamaru, who was holding out his hand in greeting. His face looked determined. Kame took the hand carefully, not quite believing what he was seeing.

“Kamenashi Kazuya. Nice to meet you too,” he stuttered.

Nakamaru smiled then and Kame’s breath caught in his throat. He’d never seen anything so beautiful. Nakamaru wasn’t going to hold his job against him, he was willing to give Kame a second chance.

“No more secrets,” Nakamaru said firmly as he shook Kame’s hand.

“No more secrets,” Kame agreed.


End file.
